The dragging and abrasions on elbows, knees, hips and almost the whole body, made me aware that the asphalt is very hard and the protection is basic to compete and also to drive a motorcycle by road or circuit.
I bought my first monkey from a friend to start competing in my beginnings with Silmar, an endearing and enthusiastic brand that accompanied me until I arrived in Garibaldi which, in the same way, represented family work and well done, dedication and passion . With their monkeys I won the two 500cc races.
From there, my relationship with Alpinestars began, which is maintained today after many years of collaboration and common work.
When I started with them they only made boots and speed gloves and I was the first to wear their overalls. Together we evolved the second skin of many pilots and users. We go from a basic skin jumpsuit without external protections to the plastic protections. Today they have applications of all kinds, indoor and outdoor, to provide greater protection and carry airbags to increase protection in falls. From simple boots, we evolve to compounds that favor mobility and elasticity of the foot and ankle and gloves are now very safe because they have been complemented with many protective elements.
It has been an activity that has always excited me and has led me to have a very special relationship with the people of Alpinestars, especially with Gabriele Mazzarolo. From the future I hope that in a not too distant day, animal skin can be replaced by some synthetic material that avoids sacrifices for this reason.
Apart from the evolution of the different materials and safety elements, together with Alpinestars we also innovate using the adhesive adhesives for the deposit. It was as a result of having a problem on one of my shoulders and not being able to withstand the force generated in braking. The idea came to encourage my legs to be more subject to the deposit of my motorcycle and could with them, withstand that pressure by discharging the shoulder. From there, we realized that these adhesives along with a strip in the inner area of the monkey’s legs allowed a support that, once I recovered from my shoulder, I no longer stopped using and, currently, is used by most of MotoGP riders.